


How It Should Have Ended: Gamma Attack

by LokasennaHiddleston



Series: Avengers Academy Shorts [5]
Category: Avengers Academy (Video Game), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Crack, Crack, Fluff and Crack, Humor, M/M, Possessive Loki, Protective Loki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-03-22
Packaged: 2018-05-28 08:49:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6322852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LokasennaHiddleston/pseuds/LokasennaHiddleston
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Leader has attacked the Avengers Academy. Iron Man wants to intervene.<br/>Naturally, Loki has a problem with this. He cannot allow his lover to be harmed. Thankfully, the God of Mischief always has a trick up his sleeve. The Leader won't even know what hit him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How It Should Have Ended: Gamma Attack

**Author's Note:**

> New short, because I am insane and I couldn't resist.  
> In case anyone is reading this who is not familiar with the game, the storyline referenced involves an event called Gamma Attack during which the Leader attacked the Academy. The player was required to train several heroes and use them to attack the Leader's guards - A-Bomb (Rick Jones) and Red Hulk (General Ross).   
> It wasn't easy to do for a F2P player like myself - and the end result is this :))  
> Hope you guys enjoy it! As always thank you for all the comments to the previous stories in the series. Next update will probably be The Most Destructive Emotion.

  


For as long as he could remember, satisfaction had never been in Loki's nature.

Maybe once upon a time, when he'd been a mere babe being nursed at his mother's breast, he'd been content with simple things and simple goals—but he hadn't been content in forever. He didn't think anyone could have blamed him for it. It was a little difficult to be satisfied when he constantly had to struggle to gain half the approval his golden brother so easily received. And in all honesty, Loki himself wasn't the type of person to wallow in calm things as contentment. He was greedy and he always needed to know more, to learn more. He was chaotic and had a restless spirit.

Which was why it was such an accomplishment that, for one single afternoon, he could just sit down on the stone bench in the quad and watch as Anthony tested his new suit.

In that moment, Loki truly didn't feel any pressure to go anywhere or learn anything. He was happy to just observe. He knew that soon, Anthony would land next to him, lift his faceplate and give Loki that unique honest smile that seemed reserved for Loki alone.

Loki was still as greedy as ever, but now, what he hoarded was the priceless moments he spent with Anthony, treasures only he could see for what they were. They had become even more precious to him since Anthony had forgiven him for his previous schemes and had given him another chance.

But alas, the good things in Loki's life never seemed to last. Loki was observing Anthony do a swirl through the air when an explosion shook the entire academy.

Instantly, he shot to his feet, glancing toward the source of the sound. The building in the center of the quad was burning, and the culprit behind the deed was obvious.

The new attacker who had targeted the Avengers Academy was called the Leader and he had some obscure plan of using Gamma Radiation to turn the entire world into gamma-mutants like him, or something along that line. A year or so ago, Loki couldn't have cared less about the idiotic mortal. Radiation couldn't hurt him. However, until Loki managed to acquire the Golden Apple, it could affect Anthony.

Not to mention that the Leader had brought along two troll-like creatures—one blue, and one red—to do his bidding. So far the only damage had been to the building in the quad—which was just as well, since as far as Loki could tell, that building had no purpose whatsoever—but it was only a matter of time until that changed, and more importantly, until Anthony intervened.

Naturally, more of the students gathered around in preparation for the attack.

"We have to stop him," the Captain said somewhat uselessly. It seemed as another of his hobbies—adding to his propensity toward stealing other people's boyfriends—was stating the obvious.

The Widow turned out to be more useful. "It seems A-Bomb and Red Hulk are mind controlled. If we can beat them, we might be able to shake off the Leader's hold on them."

"I'm on it," Anthony said, much as Loki had expected. "I'm going for the blue guy first."

"You're not in this alone, Tony," the Wasp protested. "We'll help. There's just one problem. We're not strong enough."

"We have to train," the Falcon offered.

The Wasp and the Falcon weren't wrong. Loki himself might have had the magic to go up against the massive trolls, but he didn't quite have a perfect grasp on it. And for all that he had been known to cast plenty of risky spells before, he couldn't really take such chances now.

He cleared his throat slightly. "If I may... There may be another way."

"Another way?" the Captain repeated, obviously suspicious. "What did you have in mind?"

Loki looked pointedly toward the beach. The waters remained silent for now, but Jormungandr waited just beneath the surface, ready to emerge upon Loki's call.

Predictably, Anthony understood first. "I like that plan. Good idea, babe."

"Ah," the Widow said. "As long as it doesn't do damage to the Academy, I agree."

The Captain paled as he realized what they were talking about, but to his credit, he didn't refuse. The Wasp seemed torn between enthusiasm and dread. "I like the plan," she said, "but I'm sticking with Tony. The big snake likes him."

"His name is Jormungandr, Bug-Woman," Loki said with a sneer. He didn't much appreciate the fact that she'd decided to sit down on Anthony's armored shoulder.

Then again, she and Anthony had a friendship of sorts, and she hadn't shown any interest in stealing him—so Loki would endure it, for Anthony's sake.

Loki reached out with his magic and called out to Jormungandr. His friend emerged from the enchanted waters of the beach. He didn't particularly care about what Jormungandr did to the villains, but he supposed he should be mindful of the mortals' sensibilities—particularly Anthony's. Besides, if it was true that the trolls had been mind controlled, they could come in handy later, and the Leader could be rendered harmless easily enough.

He conveyed this to Jormungandr—and from that point on, all they had to do was watch. Well, for the most part. Loki was bound to Jormungandr, and he sent pulses of magic to his friend, strengthening him, protecting him.

The Avengers' assessment of the trolls proved to be correct. Both creatures were very strong, but the red troll was particularly obnoxious since he had a sort of flame attack—and neither Loki nor Jormungandr had ever been particularly fond of heat. Either way, Loki's magic protected Jormungandr and even as he was now, in his smaller shape, Jormungandr batted the trolls away with ease. The Leader he just took in his mouth.

The Captain cursed at the sight, having obviously not expected to see someone eaten. "Relax, America-Man," Loki told him. "The green villain is quite fine. I am merely giving him a reminder of where he decided to meddle."

Jormungandr took the time to destroy the Leader's machine, then, only a few minutes later, he returned to Loki's side. He spat out the unharmed, but terror-stricken Leader at the Avengers' feet. The Wasp wrinkled her nose. "Ew."

The Widow seemed similarly disgusted, but she got over it and bent over to shackle the Leader. Technically speaking, Loki could have cast a spell on the Leader instead, but he was still sore over her spying on him, and he was not beneath making life difficult for her, even in such petty ways. Meanwhile, Anthony patted Jormungandr's massive head. "Thanks, big guy. That was a huge help."

Jormungandr preened, his coils shifting as he took in the praise. Even for someone who didn't know Jormungandr that well, it was fairly obvious.

The Falcon was the one who pointed it out. "Uh... Should the snake be doing that?"

Loki waved a hand dismissively. "It is fine. Jormungandr is just responding to Anthony."

"Seriously? I mean, I know Jan said the snake liked Tony, but that's a little... much."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Jormungandr is an extension of my magic. Of course he likes Anthony."

The statement was greeted by blank stares from all the Avengers. "Extension of your magic?" the Wasp squeaked. She had decided to hide behind the Widow while Anthony was so close to Jormungandr. "What does that even mean?"

Jormungandr hissed in her direction, tongue coming out slightly. Given that the Wasp was still in her smallish form, it seemed quite threatening. Loki knew that Jormungandr was just amused at the Avengers' behavior. He tended to be quite even tempered if Loki himself wasn't angered, and with Anthony nearby, it was highly unlikely that would happen.

Anthony didn't seem taken aback by the massive tongue that narrowly managed to miss his armor. He just tsked. "Careful there. Not to offend, but there's only one handsome guy on the campus I want to share saliva with, and it's not you."

Loki snickered. "Come now, Anthony. Is it not close enough?"

Anthony arched a brow at him, and Loki suppressed a snicker. "To answer your question, Bug-Woman," he said to the Wasp, "Jormungandr was originally my familiar. When I was a mere babe, I found him—he belonged to a species native to Asgard. I needed a focus for my magic, and so, I took him in. Of course, no one anticipated the fact that he would grow as my magic did. At one point, he grew to an alarming size, and the All-Father decided he could not stay in Asgard anymore. Thus, he makes his home in Midgard's seas, since they are big enough for him."

What he did not say was that the All-Father had considered slaying Jormungandr. When he had learned this, Loki had bound Jormungandr so tightly to him that had his father gone through with the original plan, he would have killed Loki's magic—and Loki himself with it. His father had been furious, but the gambit had worked.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Anthony said, grinning. "Lo's magic is literally as wide as the ocean."

Jormungandr rubbed his head slightly against Anthony. His massive size made Anthony stumble, but Anthony just shook it off with a laugh. Since Loki had first told him Jormungandr's story, Anthony had become quite fond of the serpent. He had confessed to Loki that Jor reminded him of his own creation, of JARVIS. He had not said it outright, but Loki suspected his lover feared the moment JARVIS would outgrow his original purpose and would need to be set free.

The fact that Jormungandr and Loki were still so close were a comfort to Anthony.

It was most definitely not a comfort to the Avengers. In fact, they seemed even more disturbed than before.

The trolls were the ones who broke the awkwardness. For all that Jormungandr had knocked them out, it seemed they'd managed to make their way back to the Academy fairly quickly.

Fortunately, with the machine destroyed and the Leader captured, the trolls were free of the mind control. They were also very interested in the other troll—the green one they called the Hulk.

Loki watched the trolls argue over what should be done about the Hulk, and promptly proceeded to ignore them. He went back to Jormungandr and patted his massive head. "Thank you, my friend. All is well now."

Jormungandr retreated into the pond, but not before giving both Anthony and Loki some affectionate nudges. Just as Jormungandr vanished beneath the surface, Director Fury finally made his appearance. "What in the world is going on here? I thought I told you to keep that snake under control."

"Loki's snake saved the Academy, Sir," the Captain unexpectedly said. "He immobilized the Leader and broke A-Bomb and Red Hulk from their mind control."

Loki scowled. It would be far easier to hate Steve Rogers if he didn't have these bursts of nobility. At times, Steve Rogers reminded him of Thor—but Thor had never been one to defend Loki, even when Loki had done nothing to warrant poor treatment.

Meanwhile, Steve Rogers clearly resented Loki for having Anthony's heart, but was standing up for him—probably because it was the right thing to do, or something equally as ridiculous.

The good part was that the Captain was among the few people the Director actually listened to so he let the matter go with relatively low amounts of protest. "Fine. Mr. Ross, Mr. Jones, we will need to speak about your potential stay at the Academy. Meet up with Ms. Potts at SHIELD HQ."

"But we have to find the Hulk," the blue troll protested. "And I'm hungry."

"Hey, we can have a party to celebrate!" the Wasp suggested. "You guys go deal with the formalities while the rest of us set things up."

"At the club?" the Falcon asked.

"Maybe on the beach. I'm thinking... Maybe Jormungandr would like to come, as a guest of honor?"

She shot Loki a questioning look, leaving him completely befuddled. She was obviously still wary of Jormungandr. Why would she make that suggestion?

Sometimes, these Midgardians were so very strange.

"Perhaps," he nevertheless said. "He does enjoy music. Although we may need more supplies if he is to eat."

"No worries, Lo!" Anthony said. "I'm on it."

Two hours later, Loki lounged on the beach in the shade, idly sending flurries of snow through the air. Jormungandr swayed slightly to the rhythm of the music, while Anthony flew around him in graceful circles.

The Wasp appeared to have disregarded her wariness entirely and was quite shamelessly taking photos. The Falcon was busy discussing with the new arrival at the Academy, the young Kamala. The Widow was nowhere to be seen—undoubtedly she had decided to go look for clues on the Hulk's location.

Neither Anthony Masters, nor Amora had shown up, but that wasn't really surprising. Jormungandr had always made Amora nervous, and the Taskmaster was the type of person to keep his distance from inhuman opponents he could not learn any moves from.

The Captain sat on the beach, idly polishing his shield. Loki watched him and considered his next move.

He would have to look into the Hulk too. Anthony seemed intrigued by the work of the Hulk's alter ego, Bruce Banner, and Loki had to admit that what Anthony had shown him was indeed intriguing. It would be a pity if Banner was harmed because SHIELD or the red troll couldn't see beyond their own noses.

As for the rest of the Avengers... Well, Loki would reserve his judgment. The Wasp wasn't terrible, he supposed, but the Widow remained a threat to Anthony's peace of mind. The Falcon had already distracted himself with his budding romance. Which left the Captain.

But Loki was nothing if not resourceful, and he still had a few tricks up his sleeve. No matter what he had to do, he would allow nothing to come between him and Anthony.


End file.
